Steve and Julie Runyon are not typical newlyweds.

They both have adult children and Steve retired, for a short time, a couple months after their wedding.

“I think one of the interesting things about our relationship is our 14 year age difference,” Julie said. “Love just covers that bridge, it’s not even an issue for us.”

Steve said he has known Julie for seven years, after meeting when they both worked in education in Danville.

“Once I got passed the animal print, I just thought she was a very bright, energetic person,” Steve said. “And she makes good chocolate chip cookies.”

Julie said it was soon after they met that they realized they did not like to be apart.

Steve said he proposed at a Sunday family dinner where they were celebrating Julie’s birthday.

After Julie blew out the candles on her birthday cake and made a wish, he asked if all her wishes came true, then presented her with a single diamond silver-banded engagement ring, Steve said.

Steve said once a person makes the decision to spend the rest of their life with another, it is hard to imagine their life without them.

“I just wanted to spend my life with Julie,” Steve said. “The desire to spend the rest of your life with someone you enjoy: the good, the bad, the ups and the downs.”

Steve and Julie got married on June 18, 2011.

When Steve and Julie got married over the summer, they said it was a family affair with about 20 people in attendance.

They were married at a vineyard in Greenup, with Julie’s daughter as the maid of honor and Steve’s son as the best man.

“We wanted it to real and meaningful,” Julie said.

Julie said they both wanted their family to be a part of the celebration.

Julie’s sister sang at their wedding while her brother-in-law played the guitar and her stepfather officiated the wedding.

Julie said since she was a single mother for 10 years, it has been an adjustment for her daughter, who is currently a freshman at Indiana State University.

Steve and Julie said they were both in previous marriages, which has had a positive affect on their own marriage.

“One of the good things that comes from a previous marriage is we learned the importance of patience and forgiveness,” Julie said.

The couple is also learning about compromise, Julie said.

Julie said Steve is not naturally an animal lover and adjustments to accommodate the three dogs and two cats that now live with them.

“I still struggle with cats,” Steve said.

Steve said communication is also a lesson he has learned from his previous marriage, but he admitted he has a harder time with sometimes.

“It’s not good to stay silent,” Steve said.

Julie said something for new couples to keep in mind is that their wedding vows still apply even when things get rough.

“To just run to get a divorce is so common,” Julie said. “You really need to think about that before you get married.”

Steve said the first time he got married, he waited until he was 31 and he has no regrets about that decision because he said he learned a lot.

“I learned from all of that and I think for young people, they don’t have those life lessons,” Steve said.

Steve said the biggest challenge that he and Julie have faced so far has been opening the consignment shop.

“It’s a new challenge,” Steve said. “Our families have been supportive.”

Steve and Julie will be working on Valentine’s Day and attending an auction in hopes of acquiring items for their shop, so Steve said Julie has planned a surprise for them for Wednesday,

Steve said this will be the first Valentine’s Day that he will spend with Julie as a married couple.

“I think it’s an opportunity for that one day to catch your breath from everything that’s going on and think about the one you’re in love with,” Steve said.

Kathryn Richter can be reached at 581-2812 or kjrichter@eiu.edu.